Patiently
by systematic honey
Summary: Every day, she waited for him. Every day for four years, she waited for him to come back to her...patiently. I suck at summaries. SasuSaku. Fluff. SemiAU.


**Disclaimer**: I wish I owned Naruto. Then maybe this story would happen…but I don't own Naruto.

Please, no flaming! This is my first fanfic on And if it sucks…well, just don't say anything, ok? It may not follow the exact storyline, but I like to imagine it does, huh? Sasuke is quite OOC, but there are certain reasons that lead him to being OOC…And when I say "sob", I mean more like a sharp intake of breath, not a movie-cheesy sob. Not "boo-hoo". Ok? Enjoy! 3

**Patiently**

----------------------------------------------------------------

"See you tomorrow!"

"Good night, Naruto!" The pink-haired girl called to the blonde boy sitting at the counter of Ichiraku. "And next time, _you're_ paying!"

Naruto sweatdropped and waved goodbye sheepishly.

Haruno Sakura gazed up into the clear night sky, sighed, and stretched her arms. It was about 9:00 pm, and the stars above Konoha were sparkling beautifully. She stopped at the road and looked left, then right. She sighed and went right. The former led her home; the latter…

She passed by a house where two old women sat on the porch chatting. Their voices quieted when they spotted her, but she could still hear them talking amongst themselves.

"Poor girl…" one of them said.

"Isn't that the Haruno's daughter?" the other inquired, "The one who—"

"Yes," the first replied. "Such a waste…it's been four years…she's been waiting there every night."

"Waiting for him to come back. The Uchiha. He was a sad case, as well…"

The first woman sighed. "She's such a pretty young girl. There are so many young men in Konoha who admire her — _and_ she was trained by hokage-sama."

"Such a waste of a life…He's not coming back."

Sakura couldn't take much more of this. She focused her chakra on her feet and ran as fast as she could to the edge of town.

She stopped ten feet from the bench. The bench where she had last seen him. Where she had heard him speak last. This bench held the most painful memory for Sakura. Every night, since he left, she would sit here and wait. She would wait for him to come back; she wanted to see him first when he returned. She wanted to say his name again like she did four years ago…

Sasuke-kun…

Sakura sat upon the bench and pulled her now elbow-length cherry blossom hair down out of a ponytail. She remembered bitterly how she wanted to grow her hair out because of the rumor that he liked girls with long hair…

"He's not coming back."

The words came back to her, stabbing her heart with a kunai. Sakura looked at the ground painfully, tears blurring her vision.

She then realized how cold the stone bench was.

Sakura closed her eyes and put her face in her hands.

"Wh-why am I even here?" she thought to herself. "Why am I not over it already? Why do I still come here after four years of nothing happening? Why—"

"Why are you crying?"

Sakura then realized that someone was sitting next to her on the bench:A man about one-third of a head taller than her, wearing a cloak with a hood that covered his face completely.

"Th-that's none of your business," the 17-year-old girl said, wiping the tears away quickly. "Who are you, and why are you talking to me?" She subtly reached for a kunai, ready for a possible attack.

"No need to pull that out," the man said, "I'm from Konoha."

He pulled out of his pocket a forehead protector with the Konoha leaf symbol engraved on it, just like hers around her head.

"What is your name?" he asked.

Sakura hesitated, wondering if she should trust this stranger. Sensing no strange chakra from him, she answered. "S-Sakura. Haruno Sakura…you're from here? Then why…?"

"I left a long time ago, when I was still a child." He said, knowing her question. "I felt alone in the world, so I left to…travel."

Sakura fell silent. She looked at the ground again.

"But why are you here all alone? Why isn't your boyfriend with you or something? Did you break up?"

Sakura smiled sadly. "No…I don't have a boyfriend. I've never had one. And…I don't think I ever can."

She ended with this, and began to tear once more. The man spoke through the silence.

"Why is that? There are probably scores of fine young men willing to go out with you."

Sakura laughed bitterly. "Are you saying that I'm pretty?"

"What else does it sound like?" he said matter-of-factly. Sakura blushed, slightly.

"You're right. There are plenty of boys here who like me. I kind of know how he felt now…but if I dated one of them, it wouldn't feel right. I'd be…forgetting about him."

"You speak of 'him', but who is he?"

Sakura buried her face in her hands and a sob escaped from her. "A shinobi never shows emotion…" she whispered to herself, but it only made her feel worse. After a few moments, she felt the man's warm, yet rough hand take hers and hold it, almost comfortingly.

"Please…I understand it causes you pain, but tell me—who are you talking about?"

Sakura did not want to respond. Just his name caused a burning pain in her heart. Finally, she pulled her hand away from his, and said piercingly,

"Pain? You know _nothing_ about pain! Who are you to ask me to talk about someone I haven't seen in four years, who I begged and pleaded to stay, who I loved with all of my heart, not liked, _loved_!"

Sakura paused after this, and swiftly pulled out her kunai and attempted to stab him. He easily caught her arm and brought it down slowly. Sakura only grew angrier.

"I loved him! I loved him so much that I've been waiting here for four years for him to come back! And you want me to just casually tell you the name of the boy who left me, who broke my heart, but whom I still sit here and wait for, UCHIHA SASUKE!"

Sakura sobbed again, and the man released his grip. There was a long silence.

"The Uchiha clan..." He said simply. "You fell in love with their boy?"

"Yes," Sakura said between short bursts of breath, trying not to cry loudly. "I fell in love with him, but he never loved me back. When ever I asked him out, he'd reject me. The last thing he ever said to me was 'urusei!'.Yet I'm still here, because I will _never_ stop loving him."

There was another ear-splitting silence.

"No…" the man said quietly.

"Wh-what do you mean 'no'?" Sakura questioned, offended.

"The last thing he said to you wasn't 'urusei'…it was… 'arigatou'."

Sakura stared at him for a moment, confused. "How would _you_ know that?" she said angrily.

"Because…I was there." The man pulled back his hood and revealed the most handsome face Sakura had ever seen. A boy her age with raven black hair and onyx eyes gazed into her jade eyes with great intensity. He looked at her with an unreadable expression. Sadness? Longing?

Sakura took in a sharp breath. Her throat closed up, her eyes filled with tears and she found that she couldn't speak. She could only look at him with a mixture of disbelief, sadness and longing.

"Sakura…" he said her name, differently than any time he had ever said it, with compassion. "I'm home."

Sakura did not say anything. She felt her tears drip down her cheeks, and she felt his finger wipe them away. He then took her hand and held it soothingly.

"S-so this means…" Sakura whispered, "Itachi is…"

"Dead," Sasuke finished dismissively. "…And you were right, Sakura. Revenge didn't make me feel better at all. It made me feel worse…"

Sakura looked up at him, confused. "But…I thought…"

I was an avenger? It's strange…I realized my true destiny only after I had fulfilled what I thought was my true destiny.

After I had killed him, I went on my way to…nowhere. I thought that I wasn't meant to live in Konoha anymore, I had left, and no one would want me back there…but as I looked into the stars, I saw something I had never seen before…I saw…you.

_I realized that I had made the biggest mistake of my life leaving you. I saw your crying face and your desperation to be with me. When I left, I was so blinded by my ambition of revenge that I couldn't see what was in front of me._

Of course, that was what he wanted to say, but he could only manage a "I'm back, that's all there is to it."

Sakura silenced at theses words, wondering what he had really been thinking. She looked at the ground again and said nothing. Once again, a tear slipped out. Sakura frowned and wiped it away quickly. She pulled her hand out of his.

"S-Sasuke…" she said softly, her heart leaping while she said his name, "I'm glad you're back…I was waiting for you…"

Sakura smiled bitterly, and now ignored the tears falling down her face.

"At least, that's what I had been planning to say to you…when you came back. But now…I have no idea what to say…"

As Sakura's tears fell silently down her cheeks, Sasuke frowned and held up her head with his fingers under her chin. He turned her head to face him, and stared down at her, frowning.

"Sakura." He said, "Stop crying. If that's what you've been doing all this time I've been gone--just sitting here and crying-- it's a miracle you haven't dried out."

Sakura laughed impulsively, a mixture of surprise and joy on her face. She had never seen Sasuke like this…acting like he cared about her?

"Wh-who are you?" she asked, in between laughs, "This isn't the cold, insensitive Sasuke I know from my genin days!"

Sasuke's frown turned serious.

"I know I was cold, but insensitive? Is that what you thought?" he released her.

Sakura realized her mistake. "Ah! Gomen, please forgive me, Sasuke…" she turned her head away, embarrassed. Sasuke, too, turned to look the other way. The moment of laughter had passed. It was replaced by an uncomfortable silence.

_I'm so stupid! He comes back, and the only thing I can say to him is that he was insensitive…_ Sakura cursed herself for saying that.

_What am I going to do? She only remembers me as cold and insensitive…_Sasuke cursed himself for being like that.

"I'm sorry. Really, Sasuke…" Sakura broke the silence, getting up from the bench. "It's getting late. I have to get home…" She started to walk back.

"Sakura…" Sasuke rose as well, but stood in place.

"Once again, Sasuke, I'm really glad you're back." She said with her back turned, too ashamed to face him.

After a few seconds of watching her go, Sasuke suddenly ran up to her and grasped her arm. She turned at once and was met with a deep kiss.

Getting over the shock, she closed her eyes and returned it. Sasuke held her arms above her elbows tenderly, and she could only clutch his forearms. It seemed to last an eternity, until they both broke apart at the same time, equally scarlet in the cheeks.

"S-sorry…" Sasuke apologized, "I-I couldn't stand watching you leave like that…"

"Th-that's all right," Sakura stammered, not knowing how to respond. "It-it was worth it…"

"Good night, Sakura."

"Good night, Sasuke…kun."

Sakura turned, and walked down the road, while tying up her hair. Her walk slowly turned into a run, and in minutes she was back at her apartment, panting, yet smiling madly. She could still feel his arms around her, and his lips upon hers. She wondered how the village would react to his arrival. Would they accept him? What would happen if she was his girlfriend? She sighed and shivered with delight at the thought. She collapsed on her bed fully clothed, and fell asleep dreaming of his face. She smiled in her sleep.

"Sasuke-kun…aishiteru…"

Sasuke stood at the spot for a while, wondering _what in the hell_ did he just do? He ran home as well, back to the home he had when he was just a child, barely seven years old. He found his old room and sat on the bed, pensive. For a child who was only a few years into the ninja academy, his bed had been huge. He guessed that his old apartment was already rented out to someone else, so it was no point going back there. He lay down on the bed, and remembered the taste of her cherry lips, and her sparkling green eyes, and fell asleep.

"Sakura…aishiteru…"

THE END

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N This story took _forever_ to finally type out! I wrote it in a notebook months ago, and it was sitting on my computer half-written since March! I'm so lazy!

The ending to this one-shot kind of screams "SEQUEL", but I'll only write one if I get ten good comments on "Patiently". I have a rare disorder that prevents me from finishing stories fast --; So, if u want to see more on this, please comment! Arigatou, gozaimasu!

Tsune


End file.
